The APNIC Executive Council (EC) commissions the APNIC Survey every two years to assess APNIC’s performance, understand the needs and priorities of Members and stakeholders, and inform strategic direction and future priorities.
The 2026 Survey was conducted independently by Survey Matters and drew 1,385 responses. The results are reported at a 95% confidence level with a margin of error of plus or minus 3%.
The results were presented at the APNIC Members Meeting at APNIC 62 and will inform APNIC’s 2028-2032 Strategic Plan. The EC thanks everyone who contributed.
This response first considers APNIC’s performance, then examines Members’ strategic priorities: Practical technical capability, APNIC’s role as a Regional Internet Registry (RIR), trusted research and expertise, regional accessibility, and policy and governance participation. It concludes with the implications for planning — balancing these priorities within available resources and considering future services that build on APNIC’s technical responsibilities and expertise.
APNIC’s performance
APNIC’s core performance measures remain strong and broadly consistent with previous surveys. The EC is pleased that respondent satisfaction remained high: 93% for the quality of APNIC services and products; 92% for the value of services and their experience interacting with APNIC; and 91% for responsiveness to Member and community feedback. Separately, 88% of respondents rated the value of APNIC membership positively.
APNIC also continues to be well regarded. 91% of respondents agreed that APNIC is respected in the Internet community, and the same proportion agreed that APNIC makes a positive contribution to Internet development in the Asia Pacific region. 65% said they speak well or highly of APNIC to others.
Across the survey’s eight governance measures, the average governance confidence score was 77%. Notably, however, an average of 20% of respondents selected ‘don’t know’ across these measures, rising to 35% in Oceania. The EC notes this feedback calls for improved communication and easier access to governance information.
Members’ strategic priorities
Practical technical capability
Respondents placed the highest value on activities that help the Internet operate securely and effectively. For Internet infrastructure deployment support, 85% rated it highly valuable or essential to their organizations, and 86% gave that rating for the community as a whole. For technical training and skills development, 84% rated it highly valuable or essential to their organizations, and 84% gave that rating for the community.
The qualitative feedback reinforces a long-standing Member expectation for practical, implementation-focused support. Respondents called for hands-on learning, implementation assistance, mentoring, operational tools and opportunities to apply knowledge through real-world experience. IPv6, Resource Public Key Infrastructure (RPKI), routing security and cybersecurity featured repeatedly in this feedback.
The EC agrees that technical support should help Members turn the knowledge gained in using Internet number resources into effective, practical operational capability. This would translate into IPv6 deployment as well as improving security through the deployment of RPKI.
APNIC’s role as an RIR
The Survey also provides useful insight into how Members understand APNIC’s role. While APNIC is most strongly identified with the delegation and management of Internet number resources, Members and stakeholders also associate APNIC with infrastructure deployment, technical training, conferences, Internet governance, research and policy development.
The EC considers these activities essential to an effective RIR because resource delegation is only part of its role; an RIR must also support the secure and effective management and use of those resources. Reliable registry services depend on supporting policies, technical capability, and infrastructure, underpinned by organizational governance and stewardship.
Research and trusted technical expertise
Respondents emphasized access to practical Internet information and analysis. Network information, research, and insights were selected as a priority by 72% of respondents, followed by security information, research, and insights at 67%. For APNIC’s engagement with governments and international bodies, 65% prioritized neutral technical expertise to support policy and decision-making.
The inclusion of ‘Network Information Centre (NIC)’ in APNIC’s name reflects the importance of these services, which support the operational and wider community by helping decision-makers and policymakers understand issues affecting Internet number resources and infrastructure.
Regional relevance and accessibility
The Survey shows that common priorities are weighted differently across the region. South Asia and Least Developed Economies placed particularly high value on technical training, community development and Internet development activities. Pacific Island respondents also highlighted local visibility, access and opportunities to participate. Respondents called for local-language resources, in-economy activities, stronger local partnerships and delivery suited to different levels of technical capability.
APNIC serves a diverse region, and no single delivery model will meet every need equally. We will consider, as part of the upcoming Strategic Plan, where differentiated delivery, local partnerships and more accessible participation can increase impact while keeping APNIC focused on its core responsibilities.
Policy and governance participation
The Survey indicates that participation in the APNIC Policy Development Process (PDP) remains concentrated among a relatively small group. 26% of respondents had followed policy discussions. Respondents linked non-participation mainly to competing priorities, unclear relevance to their day-to-day roles, limited awareness, and uncertainty about the process.
Community-developed policies are central to APNIC’s governance and stewardship of Internet number resources. The EC will continue to direct the APNIC Secretariat to work with Members to facilitate participation. Improving communications, clearer explanations of the PDP, and easier access to policy-related information can also support this goal.
Priorities for 2028 – 2032 Strategic Plan
The 2026 APNIC Survey asked respondents to allocate 100 points across eight areas of activity, requiring them to make trade-offs about where APNIC should focus. Interestingly, average allocations were relatively evenly spread across the eight activities.
The results show that respondents value a broad range of APNIC activities. The EC considers registry services, infrastructure support, capacity building, research, policy, governance and community activities to be interconnected. Together, these activities support APNIC in being an effective RIR.
Support across a broad range of activities does not remove the need to make choices. The strategic planning process will need to weigh these priorities against available resources, make compromises and manage expectations about what APNIC can deliver. We have noted the three areas with the highest ratings were supporting deployment of Internet infrastructure (an average allocation of 15.5 points); improving existing registry services (15.1); and community and ecosystem support (15.1). We will keep them in mind when working on the Strategic Plan.
Registry services and future tools
Among core registry services, Whois and the Internet Routing Registry remain the highest priority for respondents, closely followed by RPKI. The Survey separately tested possible new services. Among Member respondents, 86% rated further routing security improvements highly valuable or essential, followed by Internet Protocol (IP) abuse mitigation support at 84%, Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) analysis and insights at 83%, and data mapping and network views at 81%.
Interest is strongest in services that build on APNIC’s established technical responsibilities and expertise, and the EC will incorporate these insights into the Strategic Plan as well.
Thank you
Once again, thank you for your participation in the 2026 APNIC Survey. The EC also thanks the APNIC Secretariat for maintaining high service quality and Member experience while continuing to adapt APNIC’s work to changing operational and community needs.
The views expressed by the authors of this blog are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of APNIC. Please note a Code of Conduct applies to this blog.